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Traditional literature

Folk tales stories

Why the sun and the moon live in the sky

Nigerian Folktale
 Many years ago the sun and water were
great friends, and both lived on the earth
together. The sun very often used to visit the
water, but the water never returned his visits.
At last the sun asked the water why it was that
he never came to see him in his house, the
water replied that the sun's house was not big
enough, and that if he came with his people he
would drive the sun out.

He then said, "If you wish me to visit you,

you must build a very large compound; but I
warn you that it will have to be a tremendous
place, as my people are very numerous, and
take up a lot of room."

The sun promised to build a very big

compound, and soon afterwards he returned
home to his wife, the moon, who greeted him with a broad smile when he
opened the door. The sun told the moon what he had promised the water, and
the next day commenced building a huge compound in which to entertain his
friend.

When it was completed, he asked the water to come and visit him the next
day.

When the water arrived, he called out to the sun, and asked him whether it
would be safe for him to enter, and the sun answered, "Yes, come in, my
friend."

The water then began to flow in, accompanied by the fish and all the water
animals.

Very soon the water was knee-deep, so he asked the sun if it was still safe,
and the sun again said, "Yes," so more water came in.

When the water was level with the top of a man's head, the water said to the
sun, "Do you want more of my people to come?" and the sun and moon both
answered, "Yes," not knowing any better, so the water flowed on, until the sun
and moon had to perch themselves on the top of the roof.

Again the water addressed the sun, but receiving the same answer, and more
of his people rushing in, the water very soon overflowed the top of the roof,
and the sun and moon were forced to go up into the sky, where they have
remained ever since.

Fairy tale
Cinderella

ONCE UPON A TIME a girl

named Cinderella lived with her
stepmother and two stepsisters.  Poor Cinderella had to work hard all day long so
the others could rest. It was she who had to wake up each morning when it was still
dark and cold to start the fire.  It was she who cooked the meals. It was she who
kept the fire going. The poor girl could not stay clean, from all the ashes and
cinders by the fire.

“What a mess!” her two stepsisters laughed.  And that is why they called her

“Cinderella.”

One day, big news came to town.  The King and Queen were going to have a

ball!  It was time for the Prince to find a bride. All of the young ladies in the

land were invited to come.  They were wild with joy! They would wear their

most beautiful gown and fix their hair extra nice. Maybe the prince would

like them!

At Cinderella’s house, she now had extra work to do.  She had to make two

brand-new gowns for her step-sisters.  

“Faster!” shouted one step-sister.

“You call that a dress?” screamed the

other.  

“Oh, dear!” said Cinderella.  “When can

I–“

The stepmother marched into the room.

“When can you WHAT?”

“Well,” said the girl, “when will I have

time to make my own dress for the ball?”

“You?” yelled the stepmother.  “Who said YOU were going to the ball?”

“What a laugh!” said one step-sister.

“Such a mess!” They pointed at Cinderella.  All of them laughed.

Cinderella said to herself, “When they look at me, maybe they see a mess.

But I am not that way.  And if I could, I WOULD go to the ball.”

Soon the time came for the stepmother and step-sisters to leave for the big

party.
Their fine carriage came to the door. The stepmother and step-sisters

hopped inside.  And they were off.

“Good-bye!” called Cinderella.  “Have a good time!” But her stepmother and

step-sisters did not turn around to see her.

“Ah, me!” said Cinderella sadly.  The carriage rode down the street.  She

said aloud, “I wish I could go to the ball, too!”

Then - Poof!

All of a sudden, in front of her was a fairy.

“You called?” said the fairy.

“Did I?” said Cinderella.  “Who are you?”

“Why, your Fairy Godmother, of course!  I know your wish.  And I have

come to grant it.”

“But… ” said Cinderella, “my wish is impossible.”

“Excuse me!” said the Fairy Godmother in a huff.  “Did I not just show up

out of thin air?”

“Yes, you did,” said Cinderella.

“Then let me be the one to say what is possible or not!”

“Well, I think you know I want to go to the ball, too.” She looked down at

her dirty clothes.

 “But look at me.”

“You do look a bit of a mess, child,” said the Fairy Godmother.

“Even if I had something nice to wear," said the girl, "I would have no way

to get there."

“Dear me, all of that is possible,” said the Fairy. With that, she tapped her

wand on Cinderella’s head.

“Am I dreaming?” said Cinderella, looking

around her.
“It is as real, as real can be,” said the Fairy Godmother.  “But there is one thing

you must know.”

“What is that?”

“All of this lasts only to midnight.  Tonight, at the stroke of midnight, it will all be

over.  Everything will go back to how it was before.”

“Then I must be sure to leave the ball before midnight!” said Cinderella.

“Good idea,” said the Fairy Godmother.

She stepped back. “My work is done.” And

with that, the Fairy Godmother was gone.

Cinderella looked around her.  "Did that

even happen?"  But there she stood in a fine

gown, and with a golden band in her hair. 

And there were her driver and four horses

before her, waiting.

“Coming?” called the driver.

She stepped into the carriage.  And they were off.

Over at the ball, the Prince did not know what to think.  “Why do you have

that sad look on your face?” the Queen said to her son.  “Look around you!

You could not ask for finer maidens than these.”

“I know, Mother,” said the Prince.  Yet he knew something was wrong. He

had met many of the young women.  Yet after he said “hello,” one by one,

he could find nothing more to say.

"Look!"  Someone pointed to the front door.  “Who is that?”

All heads turned.  Who was that lovely maiden stepping down the stairs?

She held her head tall and looked as if she belonged. But no one knew her.

“There is something about her,” said the Prince to himself.  “I will ask her to

dance.” And he walked over to Cinderella.

“Have we met?” said the Prince.

“I am pleased to meet you now,” said Cinderella with a bow.

“I feel as if I know you,” said the Prince.  “But of course, that is impossible.”

“Many things are possible,” said Cinderella, “if you wish them to be true.”

The Prince felt a leap in his heart.  He and Cinderella danced. When the

song was over, they danced again.  And then they danced again, and yet

again. Soon the other maidens at the ball grew jealous.  “Why is he dancing

all the time with her?” they said. “How rude!”

But all the Prince could see was Cinderella.  They laughed and talked, and

they danced some more.  In fact, they danced for so long that Cinderella did

not see the clock.

“Dong!” said the clock.

Cinderella looked up.  

“Dong!” went the clock again.  

She looked up again.  “Oh, my!” she cried

out.  “It is almost midnight!”

“Dong!” rung the clock.  

“Why does that matter?” said the Prince.

“Dong!” called the clock.

“I must go!” said Cinderella.  

“Dong!” went the clock.

“But we just met!” said the Prince.  “Why leave now?”

“Dong!” rung the clock.

“I must GO!” said Cinderella.  She ran to the

steps.

“Dong!” said the clock.

“I cannot hear you,” said the Prince.  “The

clock is too loud!”

“Dong!” rung the clock.

“Goodbye!” said Cinderella. Up, up the stairs she ran.

“Dong!” went the clock.

“Please, stop for a moment!” said the Prince.

“Oh, dear!” she said as one glass slipper fell off her foot on the stair.  But

Cinderella kept running up.

“Dong!” said the clock.

“Please wait a moment!” said the Prince.  

“Dong!” rung the clock.

“Goodbye!” Cinderella turned one last time.  Then

she rushed out the door.

“Dong!”  The clock was quiet. It was midnight.  

“Wait!” called the Prince.  He picked up her glass slipper and rushed out the

door.  He looked around but could not see her blue dress anywhere.  “This

is all I have left from her,” he said, looking down at the glass slipper.  He

saw that it was made in a special way, to fit a foot like none other.

“Somewhere there is the other glass slipper,” he said.  “And when I find it, I

will find her, too.  Then I will ask her to be my bride!”

From hut to hut, from house to house, went the Prince.  One young woman

after another tried to fit her foot inside the glass slipper.  But none could fit.

And so the Prince moved on.

At last the Prince came to Cinderella’s house.  

“He is coming!” called one step-sister as she looked out the window.

“At the door!” screamed the other step-sister.  

“Quick!” yelled the stepmother.  “Get ready! One of you must be the one to

fit your foot in that slipper.  No matter what!”

The Prince knocked.  The stepmother flew open the door.  “Come in!” she

said. “I have two lovely daughters for you to see.”

The first step-sister tried to place her foot in the glass slipper.  She tried

hard, but it just would not fit. Then the second step-sister tried to fit her

foot inside.  She tried and tried with all her might, too. But no dice.

“Are there no other young women in the house?” said the Prince.

“None,” said the stepmother.

“Then I must go,” said the Prince.

“Maybe there is one more,” said Cinderella, stepping into the room.

“I thought you said there were no other young women here,” said the

Prince.

“None who matter!” said the stepmother in a hiss.

“Come here,” said the Prince.

Cinderella stepped up to him.  The Prince

got down on one knee and tried the glass

slipper on her foot.  It fit perfectly! Then,

from her pocket Cinderella took out

something. It was the other glass slipper!

“I knew it!” he cried.  “You are the one!”

“WHAT?” shouted a step-sister.  

“Not HER!” screamed the other step-sister.

“This cannot BE!” yelled the stepmother.  

But it was too late.  The prince knew that Cinderella was the one.  He

looked into her eyes. He did not see the cinders in her hair or the ashes on

her face.

“I have found you!” he said.

“And I have found you,” said Cinderella.

And so Cinderella and the Prince were married, and they lived happily ever

after.

Myth stories

PANDORA’s BOX

Long ago and far away, high up amongst the clouds of

Mount Olympus, the gods enjoyed a life of pleasure and
quarrelling. Whenever they tired of quarrelling amongst
themselves, they turned their attention to playing with people,
as you might play with your toys.

One day, the gods created a beautiful woman called Pandora

and took her to Prometheus. He knew the gods were angry
with him as he had stolen fire from them and given it to
humans. Prometheus was frightened that the gods were
trying to trick him to get their own back and he decided to
ignore her.

However his brother, Epimetheus, fell in love with the

beautiful Pandora and decided to marry her. The couple lived happily together until …
one day Mercury, the messenger of the gods, arrived with a mysterious box. He asked
Pandora and her husband to take care of it while he was away. Before he left, he made
them promise never to look inside it.

For days Pandora couldn’t take her eyes off the box. All the time she wondered what
was inside; could it be full of glittering jewels, glamorous dresses, golden coins?
Whenever Epimetheus was away and no one was around, Pandora would creep up to
the box and run her fingers over the polished wood and the golden clasp. However one
day, when Epimetheus was out hunting, she could bear it no longer, her curiosity
overcame her. Making sure she was not being watched, she crept up to the box and
gingerly opened the clasp. Slowly lifting the lid, she looked inside.

But to her surprise there were no glittering jewels, glamorous

dresses, golden coins – instead the gods had filled the box
with all evils now known to mankind. Disease, misery and
death swooped and buzzed around stinging her. Pandora
screamed and screamed with pain and fear. Epimetheus
heard her cries as he rode into the courtyard. Flinging himself
from his horse, he ran to her aid. Taking her into his arms he
comforted her as the evils flew out of the castle and spread
across the land.

Between her sobs, Pandora and Epimetheus heard a tiny little

voice calling from the box. ‘Let me out! Let me out!’ Believing
that nothing inside the box could be worse than the horrors
released, they opened the lid once more.

All that remained was a tiny crumpled butterfly, shivering in the corner. Slowly it
unfolded its sparkling wings and brushed them against Pandora, healing her wounds.
The beautiful butterfly was hope, which Mercury had hidden amongst the evils, taking
pity on mankind when he realised what the gods were plotting.

Fables

The Ants & the Grasshopper

Once upon a time, there lived an ant and a

grasshopper in a grassy meadow by the
river. It was during the hot summer season
when the ant was toiling hard by collecting
wheat grains from the farmer’s field.
The ant would work hard all day long from
dawn to dusk collecting the heavy grain
well balanced on her back. She would then
put the wheat grain in her larder carefully
and rush back to the field to collect
another grain. She would scurry back and
forth between the field and her larder, often
repeating this task the whole day.
On the other hand, there was a
grasshopper in the grassy meadow who
would spend all his time in singing and
dancing. He would often scorn at the ant
for toiling so hard the entire day in
collecting the grains. He would frequently call the ant to join him in singing, dancing and
making merry at the present time.
However, the ant would ignore him and continue with her work. This would make the
grasshopper laugh even louder and he would often ridicule the ant stating that they have
enough food to sustain themselves in summer.
Hearing this, the ant said that she was saving some food for the cold season and
recommended the grasshopper to follow the same. The grasshopper didn’t pay heed to her

words and continued singing and dancing merrily.

Soon summer faded to autumn and autumn to winter. It became freezing cold outside due to
snowfall and the sun was barely visible and the nights were long and dark. Out of cold, the
grasshopper lost his interest in singing and making merry. He was cold and hungry and had
no place to take shelter from the snow outside. He wondered how to save himself from this
tough situation.
Suddenly he remembered about the ant and visited her for some food and shelter. Off he
went to her place and knocked at her door for help. When she opened the door, the
grasshopper offered to sing for her in return for some food and shelter.
To this, the ant replied that she had toiled hard in summer to save enough food for winter and
the grasshopper had mocked her then. She gently asked him to sing somewhere else and
earn his food and shelter. It is then, the grasshopper realised that he should have saved up
enough for the winter instead of wasting his time being lazy during summer in singing and
dancing around.

Parables

The Boy Who Cried “Wolf”

Once upon a time, there lived a shepherd boy who would take his flock of sheep for grazing
grass by the hillside near his village every day. The hill area was known to have a wolf in its
woods who was infamous for attacking the sheep grazing there.

The villagers of that area were aware of the wolf’s menace and were always ready to come to
anyone’s aid who called out for help. The shepherd boy was well aware of the helping nature
of the villagers residing nearby.
One fine day, the shepherd boy was getting bored as he sat on the hillside watching his
sheep grazing grass. To amuse himself he cried out loudly, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is raiding
my sheep!” Hearing this, the ever-vigilant villagers rushed to the hillside to help the boy in
driving the wolf away. But when they arrived, they found that there was no wolf nearby.
Seeing the crowd, the boy had a hearty laugh at the sight of their angry faces. Annoyed at his
act, the villagers told him not to unnecessarily call out for help when there is no wolf around.
Having said that, they went back down the hill.
After some time the boy mischievously shouted again, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is raiding my
sheep!” To his amusement, the villagers rushed up the hill again to help him drive the
lecherous wolf away. They were naturally upset when he laughed at them for fooling them the
second time in a row. One of the villagers in anger told the shepherd not to raise a false
alarm if there is no wolf around. They went grumbling back down the hillside.
Later during the day the shepherd let out a hue and cry and shouted at the top of his voice,
“Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is raiding my sheep!” However, this time the villagers assumed that the
boy is unnecessarily raising a false alarm about the wolf for his own amusement. They did
not react to his cry for help and thought that he was playing a prank on them this time too.
Towards the evening, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn’t returned with his
flock of sheep. They went up the hill to find him. To their dismay, they found him weeping and
they asked him the reason why he was upset.
The shepherd boy replied while sobbing that the wolf had come and scattered his flock of
sheep. He cried out for help loudly, “Wolf! Wolf! The wolf is raiding my sheep!”, but nobody
turned up to help him drive the lewd wolf away.
The villagers told him that they had come to his aid when he had raised false alarms in the
first two instances. However, when they saw him ridiculing them for their helping nature, they
assumed that the third one was a prank call too. Hence, they didn’t pay attention to it

Tall tales
Riddles
Fiction

Adventure Fiction